If you throw all the products we buy and the services we use in one basket, then add up the price tag, that's the Gross Domestic Product, which is the primary metric economists use to assess the economic health of a country or region.

The easy part of calculating GDP is the calculation itself: C+I+G+(X-M)=GDP. Got it? No? Well, add Consumption, Investment by companies, Government purchases, and then take the product of eXports (calling it 'E' would lack sexiness) minus iMports ('I' was taken). Viola! GDP.

Still don't get it? Well, knowing the components helps. Consumption is the biggest component, and it's a tally of the cost of all the goods and services we buy. Investment is what companies spend on the real assets they own, plus the value of the inventory that we haven't gobbled up through consumption. Government purchases are what the Feds pay money for (whether it be highways or fighter jets, though big social programs, like welfare, aren't counted). And then we calculate the difference between the goods and services we¿re sending to other countries and the stuff we're bringing in.

Good. That explains it, except there's a catch. Inflation has a habit of distorting the numbers, so economists talk about either Nominal GDP or Real GDP. In fact, Real GDP isn't necessarily "real" for most folks, since it takes any inflation out. Nominal GDP includes the effects of inflation. (There's something called the implicit price deflator which is a calculation using the two, but we'll spare you the details.)

So, now that we know GDP, why do we want to? Well, it's good to compare different markets. And watching the trend shows whether a given economy is growing (good), stagnating (not so good), or shrinking (very not so good). When GDP goes down two quarters in a row, we're officially in a recession.

For the record, GDP is released at the end of each month, with most reporting ¿preliminary¿ data for the previous month. But you won't get final GDP numbers for the fourth quarter of a year until the very end of the first quarter of the next year. After all, it's not an easy number to calculate.

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Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Kate Voegele Announces North American Headlining Tour

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LOS ANGELES, Aug 06, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----MySpace Records/ Interscope recording artist Kate Voegele today announced plans for the "Back 2 School" tour, sponsored by University of Phoenix. The "Back 2 School," Voegele's first headline tour, will include 40-dates across North America.

While on tour, Kate will chronicle her road experience via video diaries as she strives to maintain balance between her musical career and the two college courses she is taking as a Psychology major at University of Phoenix. While on tour, the MySpace community will get exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Kate's personal and musical growth through weekly video journals, bulletins and "Ask Kate" forums that will be posted on MySpace http://www.myspace.com/kateontour.

"We are so excited to be working with University of Phoenix on this tour! It truly represents what the MySpace Music platform is all about: creating unique opportunities for artists, fans, and brands to connect around music," said J Scavo, General Manager of MySpace Records. "Kate's tour last Spring was unbelievable and an even bigger turnout than we ever expected. This time, we have a unique opportunity to give her fans a glimpse 'behind the scenes' as Kate maintains balance between life on the road and her college education, which her fans are going to love!"

Voegele, hailed by Entertainment Weekly for being among the best of "the new golden age of female singer-songwriters," is touring in support of debut album Don't Look Away, the record that earned her "Artist to Watch In '08" accolades from Billboard.

"Although her career path may be different from many of our students," said Dr. Bill Pepicello, University of Phoenix president, "Kate's commitment to her education is the same. She is one of over 345,000 current students who know University of Phoenix plays an important role in higher education today, offering nontraditional, working students, like Kate, a quality alternative that is more accessible than conventional four-year colleges and universities."

"I am looking forward to my first headlining tour with MySpace and University of Phoenix," said MySpace Records/ Interscope recording artist, Kate Voegele. "While on the road, I'm able to reach my fans through constant updates on MySpace and still be able to focus on the Psychology classes I'm taking at University of Phoenix, so it's really the best of both worlds."

The campaign follows a flurry of headline-making moves for Voegele, who began 2008 with a guest-starring role on the CW Network's hit TV series "One Tree Hill" and maintained a high media profile with performances on "Live with Regis and Kelly" and CBS' "The Early Show," as well as appearances on MTV's "TRL" and Fuse-TV's "The Sauce." She's also been featured on the cover of USA Today's "Life" section and appeared in the pages of People, CosmoGirl, TV Guide and Giant, to name but a few. The 21-year-old Voegele recently joined Sheryl Crow, Nelly and 3 Doors Down in recording exclusive tracks for the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack, a collection of songs that hope to motivate American Olympians at this year's Games in Beijing. Fans can purchase Voegele's song--the sweepingly beautiful "Lift Me Up"--through iTunes with proceeds benefiting the U.S. Olympic team.

Don't miss your chance to catch Kate Voegele live. Tour dates below.

 www.myspace.com/kateontour www.katevoegele.com

   Kate Voegele's "Back to School" Tour Date City Venue 8/8 Pomona, CA Glass House 8/9 Laguna Hills, CA Laguna Hills Mall 8/11
   Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater 8/12 Seattle, WA Neumo's 8/14 Salt Lake City, UT Club Sound 8/16 Omaha, NE Sokol Underground
   8/17 Edina, MN Southdale Center 8/18 Milwaukee, WI Rave Bar 8/19 Grand Rapids, MI Intersection 8/21 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen
   8/22 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen 8/23 Gurnee, IL Gurnee Mills 8/24 Cleveland, OH Cambridge Room 8/26 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe
   8/27 Norfolk, VA Norva 8/29 St. Petersburg, FL State Theater 8/30 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room 8/31 Orlando, FL Social
   9/3 Atlanta, GA The Loft 9/4 Birmingham, AL Workplay 9/5 New Orleans, LA House of Blues Parish 9/6 Houston, TX Wherehouse
   Studios 9/7 Dallas, TX The Loft 9/10 Los Angeles, CA Roxy 9/11 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall 9/12 Santa Barbara,
   CA West Beach 9/13 San Diego, CA SOMA Sidestage 9/14 Phoenix, AZ Martini Ranch 9/16 Denver, CO Bluebird 9/18 St. Louis, MO
   FuBar 9/19 Indianapolis, IN Music Mill 9/20 Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theater 9/21 Detroit, MI Crofoot Ballroom 9/23 Toronto, ON
   El Mocambo 9/24 Rochester, NY Water Street 9/25 New York, NY Irving Plaza 9/26 Boston, MA Somerville 9/27 New Haven, CT Toad's
   Place 9/28 South Hackensack, NJ School of Rock 9/30 Baltimore, MD 8x10

About Kate Voegele:

The Cleveland native is the "Steve Madden Music Spotlight of the Month" and will be spotlighted in an in-store and online marketing campaign launched by the footwear and apparel retailer. Voegele is also the face of clothing brand Vanilla Star's "Smart Girls Rock" campaign. Over the course of the past few years, Voegele has shared stages with the likes of Dave Matthews, the Wreckers and John Mellencamp, performed at two consecutive Farm-Aid concerts, and played to packed houses at clubs and theaters nationwide. She recently wrapped dates with Ben Lee and Cary Brothers, as well as a solo headlining run.

About MySpace

MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc. is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends, discovering popular culture, and making a positive impact on the world. MySpace has created a connected global community by integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities, and member forums. MySpace's international network includes more than 25 localized community sites in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Latin America, Mexico, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Australia, India, Japan, and New Zealand. Fox Interactive Media is a division of News Corp. (NYSE:NWS) (NYSE:NWS.A) (ASX:NWS) (ASX:NWSLV).

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix is constantly innovating to help students balance education and life in a rapidly changing world. Through flexible schedules, challenging courses and interactive learning, students achieve personal and career aspirations without putting their lives on hold. As of May 31, 2008, 345,300 students were enrolled at University of Phoenix, the largest private university in North America. University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S. as well as online throughout the world.

SOURCE: MySpace

MySpace Brianne Pins, 310-969-7696 bpins@myspace.com or B/W/R Public Relations for Kate Voegele Michael Moses,
   310-248-6171 mmoses@bwr-la.com or University of Phoenix Wendy Paul, Executive Director of Public Relations 866-222-8910 /
   cell 847-651-4492 Wendy.Paul@phoenix.edu

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